They wore abarcas, or shoes of skin, tied
on like sandals, which gave them a foothold everywhere. A less
resolute man would have despaired. But in an instant I saw and
used the strange chance which Fortune had placed in my way. On
the very edge of the slope was one of the wine-barrels. I moved
slowly toward it, and then with a tiger spring I dived into it
feet foremost, and with a roll of my body I tipped it over the
side of the hill.
Shall I ever forget that dreadful journey--how I bounded and
crashed and whizzed down that terrible slope? I had dug in my
knees and elbows, bunching my body into a compact bundle so as to
steady it; but my head projected from the end, and it was a
marvel that I did not dash out my brains. There were long,
smooth slopes, and then came steeper scarps where the barrel
ceased to roll, and sprang into the air like a goat, coming down
with a rattle and crash which jarred every bone in my body. How
the wind whistled in my ears, and my head turned and turned until
I was sick and giddy and nearly senseless! Then, with a swish
and a great rasping and crackling of branches, I reached the
bushes which I had seen so far below me.
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